Kingdom’s Bloodline

A few minutes later, another special room.

"I'm really sorry, Your Highness Thales,"

Federico's voice was as calm, cold and cold as ever.

He raised his head and looked at Thales quietly.

"Judge Brennan is an old man from back then. He is indeed on the list. I also have a plan to question him. Lausanne II will act accordingly." Federico shook his head, "But I assure you, in addition to questioning him, Besides, I never gave the order to kill him.”

Thales frowned, his eyes suspicious.

"But as far as I know, your father and he had always been at odds with each other during his lifetime, and even criticized each other, and Brennan was the one who convicted your father."

Thales narrowed his eyes:

"Maybe in your opinion, his death was deserved?"

"Quite the opposite."

Federico's voice was calm:

"My father doesn't like Mr. Brennan, but they only discuss business matters and never have any personal grudges. In fact, my father respects Mr. Brennan very much. He said to me privately: The Emerald City is the least selfish and the least likely to betray Kevin Deal's is Judge Brennan.

“As for Brennan’s conviction of my father, with Jenn’s ability to forge evidence, I think the judge can only follow the rules.

"As the 'Yangjiao Gong' said back then: Those who can be seen are friends, and those who cannot be seen are enemies."

Thales didn't answer, just took a sip of tea and observed Federico carefully.

But at least on the surface, he couldn't see any flaws.

"What about Lausanne II? The killer?"

Thales said:

"You are sitting here, but he is still moving around the city, running errands for you?"

"Please forgive me," Federico said with a solemn expression, "When I surrendered to the Emerald City, I walked into Zhan's chessboard and lost all initiative: so I must keep the pieces outside the chessboard, even if I am trapped Even in prison, he can act alone, and Lausanne II is one of them."

"Then who is Lausanne II? What secrets does he have? What is his purpose?" Thales warned, "Why do I follow you to the Emerald City? And take such a big risk for you?"

"I don't know much about him, but I can say this: Lausanne II is a very special person, or in other words, a very special sword."

Thales raised his eyebrows.

"Obviously," Thales was silent for a while, "a mentally defective, moody, ruthless and murderous tool that kills innocent people indiscriminately."

Federico was silent for a moment and shook his head.

"Believe me, Your Highness, in essence, he is very similar to us: he is engaged in a cruel and desperate struggle with fate every moment. He has to do many things as a last resort."

"Us?" Thales was deeply doubtful.

Federico slowly raised his head and nodded gently:

"us."

Us shit.

"Then you call him back. Now," Thales said, not wanting to talk nonsense with him anymore, "Restrict your hands, submit to the law, and abolish your meaningless 'off-board chess piece'."

"His Highness has a destiny, and he will do whatever he wants. But unfortunately, since I walked in here and imprisoned myself, I can no longer control him - in fact, I have never completely controlled him."

Thales frowned:

"Lausanne II told me personally that he was employed by Kevin Deere - was that you?"

"Indeed."

"So you think I look like a fool?"

Federico shook his head in denial:

"Your Highness, I forgive you. I did not mean any disrespect, but I also did not mean any lies."

"Does that mean you are such a fool that you can't even control your hunting dogs?"

Federico smiled and shook his head.

"As high as you are, Your Highness, you have orders and prohibitions, and no one has ever dared to disobey. They must be accustomed to everyone being restricted by power and status, and obeying orders, just like hounds and chess pieces."

Federico's eyes flickered, seeming to express emotion:

"But believe it or not, Your Highness, there is always a type of people in this world who are not bound by the world and rules. They are very dangerous, but they are also more useful because of it. People who act according to free will must be better than those who have to act according to rules. People, more efficient.

"When I hired him here, I made a promise to Lausanne II: I will not treat him like the previous masters. He has always been free here. I promised him to bring him out of the quagmire of sinking. , show him the scenery at the top and see what kind of power it was that knocked him down to the bottom. "

Thales didn't answer, just stared at the other person carefully.

Federico came to his senses:

"If this were not the case, even someone as unruly as him would not be willing to cooperate with me."

"That means that no matter what he does in the future, it has nothing to do with you?"

"Of course it's relevant, I just don't know what he will do and whether he will keep his promise to me - if so, the to-do list I will give him is also very long, depending on how he chooses."

Thales looked at him with increasingly cold eyes.

"You are so eloquent," the prince said softly, "with just a few words, you can completely remove yourself and put all the responsibility on Lausanne II."

"That's the truth."

Thales sneered.

"Not too long ago, he came within a hair's breadth of killing me."

Federico frowned hard.

"I regret."

"Is that all you can say?"

"I once explicitly ordered Lausanne II not to harm a single hair of your head, and I never asked him to kill Brennan, but despite this, he still brought unforeseen damage. This is my responsibility."

Federico nodded slowly, then shook his head.

"I'm ashamed and very sorry about this."

When Thales heard this, he remembered Mallos' words.

Chivalry.

[Except for Brennan himself, no one in the entire mansion was injured...]

[Brennan committed suicide by taking poison in the study...]

But the next second, Federico changed the subject:

"But since he did this to you and killed Brennan, that only proves one thing."

"What's up?"

"Lausanne II," Federico sighed, "he is out of control again."

Thales frowned slightly:

"again?"

He suddenly remembered the experience of meeting Lausanne II in the corpse tunnel. The other party was in a completely different state.

"Your Highness, do you know the relationship between Lausanne II and the Blood Bottle Gang and the Emerald City?"

"Know a thing or two," Tails came back to his senses, "They are Kevin Deere's white gloves to do the dirty work."

"No more, Your Highness, no more," Federico shook his head, "For more than a century, when the ancestors of the Emerald City, especially Kevin Dill, decided to learn from the virtuous kings, change themselves, set rules, and divide the traditional rights. When giving more lower-class people who are more in line with our interests and can work better for us to stimulate vitality and eliminate saprophytic tissue, some people point out: Someone must be responsible for monitoring and restricting these nouveau riche who have risen overnight - officials and businessmen. Artisans, farmers, scholars, landless knights..."

Having said this, Federico's eyes moved:

"Of course, I believe that during your time in power, whether it is daily government affairs or market and trade, you must have experienced this group of people's obedience and ignorance of current affairs."

Thales snorted lightly, noncommittal.

"As for restricting their candidates, the fat-headed nobles and relatives have no hope. They can only choose the mud-legged, broken-down, and miserable people who are even lower than them. Therefore, the Blood Bottle Gang came into being, born outside the rules. Being an enemy of the law - just to restrain those who are within the rules and may one day eat away at the law.”

Federico continued:

"They are our invisible tentacles, touching the darkness that no one cares about. When we are unable to come forward, we can use more violent and unreasonable means that are more effective and will not affect Kevin Deere's reputation and interests. Correcting the Emerald City's direction."

"That's nice to say." Thales said disdainfully.

"In this way, with the acquiescence and even support of the Emerald City, the Blood Bottle Gang expanded step by step, gradually grew stronger, and even spread to the whole country." Federico gradually became lost in thought. "Even their former gang leader, Turnbull, if he traces his The blood connection can still be traced back to a certain illegitimate son of Kevin Dill several generations ago. "

"So one day, my uncle realized that these people were getting out of control."

Thales' eyes moved.

"They learned how to do it, and actually colluded with high-ranking officials and nobles from all over the country. They began to deliberately move closer to the rules, use the rules, and even began to find more backers - the opposite of what we originally expected them to do."

Federico's words were cold:

"And among them, the Turnbull gang is the leader who is brilliant and wants more."

Turnbull and the Blood Bottle Gang.

Thales thought of something and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"So one day, my uncle and father decided in Kongming Palace that a stable, unified, and powerful Blood Bottle Gang no longer served our interests."

Thales frowned and said, "They defeated the Blood Bottle Gang?"

Federico smiled and shook his head.

"In fact, Kevin Dill did nothing. Uncle and father, they just hinted to the vicious puppies who have been eyeing the dog pot: From now on, they can snatch the big dog's food."

Thales' eyelids twitched.

He thought of Phantom Blade Kathleen, of her and the various blood bottle gangs, and of the scenes in which they fought to the death for power, status, interests, or even just face and breath on the street.

All of this, the lives of these gangsters...

"Then it's the end of Turnbull."

Federico concluded lightly:

"Losanne II, no matter how good his swordsmanship is and how many he kills, he is just a bland supporting role in that inevitable fate."

No, it's not just them.

Black Sword, Maurice, Cenza, Roda, Maurice, Leyock, and even Quaid who has been dead for a long time...

Thales suddenly felt a sense of sadness in his heart.

"I tried to make him understand and accept this, to see a higher picture, a bigger world," Federico shook his head with regret, "Unfortunately, Lausanne neither understood nor agreed."

Thales clenched his fists.

"So these people get out of control. And when they get out of control," Federico sighed, "they need to correct themselves."

Correction.

"Jane said no."

Thales had no expression on his face and suddenly spoke.

Federico didn't respond and looked confused.

"Whether Brennan died or I threatened him with his sister," Thales shook his head, "he refused to compromise."

Perhaps because of the mention of that name, Federico was no longer as calm and understated as before, but his eyes were bright.

"No compromise? Really, no sign of loosening up at all? For example, Zhan is willing to spend some money to give Emerald City a few days of grace?"

[I will write a letter right now...to the Popon family who is engaged in the funeral industry...to withdraw 10,000 gold coins...]

Thales looked at him and shook his head slowly:

"No."

Federico suddenly frowned:

"Or, did he put forward conditions to you in return? For example, give up arbitration, or even hand over me, and he agreed to make concessions?"

[Federico, must-must-die. 】

Thales' eyes remained calm and he continued to shake his head:

"No."

Federico frowned upon hearing this and felt uncomfortable for a long time.

"Yeah, I underestimated him..."

Thales didn't say anything either.

He just observed Kevin Deere in front of him carefully, comparing him with the other iris.

Red and black.

After a long time, Federico raised his head, his eyes sharp.

"That's right. He has been a Duke for so many years. He is used to being in a high position and giving orders. He will never give in easily..." Federico made up his mind and was eager to give it a try. "Your Highness, maybe we haven't forced him hard enough..."

"There is no 'us', only you." Thales interrupted him.

Federico was stunned for a moment.

"Tell me," Thales leaned forward, "Apart from asking Lausanne to find Brennan, what other means have you prepared? To force me to act, to force Zhan to give in?"

"Your Highness..."

"Tell me, why are you so confident," Thales pressed forward step by step. "You think Zhan will give in? What else are you hiding from me? What is Zhan's thing that you want to take advantage of?"

Federico's expression moved slightly:

"Forgive me for not knowing..."

"It doesn't matter whether it's Hilley, Brennan, or old cases from back then," but Thales didn't listen to his excuse at all. "What on earth could make Zhan so fearful? Is it really because he killed his father?" , Are you afraid of sin and compromising?”

Federico's eyes flashed when he heard this.

But after just a few seconds, he regained his composure and smiled appropriately.

"I understand," Federico said, "Your Highness, Zhan gave in, right?"

Thales frowned.

Federico's eyes lit up when he saw this:

"He compromised."

"And the reason why you are worried and refuse to tell me directly..."

Federico raised his eyebrows.

"Ah - he wants me."

Kevin Dill, known as Bloody Iris, stood up and paced back and forth, excitement vaguely visible in his steps.

"In other words, he wants you to sacrifice me to prevent arbitration and make you give up the pursuit," he gritted his teeth, "and give up pursuing his sins back then."

Thales said nothing.

Snapped!

Federico gives a high five!

"Great, Your Highness!" He glanced sideways with sharp eyes, "He is willing to give in, which means you have caught his pain point!"

"But Your Highness, you must also be vigilant. You can make excuses with him, but you must not agree to him easily! Zhan En seems to be submissive, but in fact he is retreating in order to advance. Once you give up pursuing the old case, you will lose the biggest bargaining chip against him. …”

"Federico Kevin Dial!"

Thales interrupted him sharply, making Federico, who was immersed in the pleasure of revenge, furious.

The prince slowly stood up.

"You haven't answered my question yet," Thales stared at him coldly, "What truth is hidden behind the old cases from back then? What are you hiding from me?"

Federico looked back at Thales blankly.

"And when you returned to the Emerald City, you made all your plans and took every step, was it really just to seek justice and avenge your father?"

The two looked at each other silently, one aggressively, the other hesitantly.

After a long time, Federico took a deep breath.

"I don't know, Your Highness, and I don't know the truth about the old case, but I know that no matter what it is, Zhan is very nervous."

He showed an ominous smile:

"And I'm looking forward to exploring it with you, Your Highness."

I knew it.

"Then you don't have to look forward to it." Thales said coldly.

Federico paused.

"Because tonight is the end of Lausanne II—and perhaps your other allies."

At that moment, Thales' words made Federico's expression change drastically!

"Your Highness..."

"Your chess moves outside the chessboard end here," Thales said in a cold voice, not allowing him to interrupt, "As for the question just now, I hope you will have a better answer when I come back - you know, there is another There's a Kevin Deere right at the door."

Federico's expression changed several times.

"And he seems more cooperative," Thales walked toward the door without looking back, "and richer."

"But it's more dangerous!" Federico said suddenly.

Thales stopped.

Federico gritted his teeth and said:

"Please, Your Highness, don't promise him, don't give up the chips, let alone let Zhan get the chips back - otherwise we will all regret it."

Thales chuckled disdainfully:

"There's no 'us', just me."

After saying this, he turned around:

"You were already dead by then, how can you regret it?"

Federico's eyebrows twitched.

The two looked at each other quietly.

"Let me see him."

After a few seconds, Federico spoke again.

But this time, his words were particularly difficult:

"Before you make a decision, please let me see Zhan. Of course, you can keep an eye on me."

Thales frowned and said:

"That's it? You have nothing else to say to me?"

Federico took a deep breath and nodded with difficulty.

Seeing that he had nothing else to say, Thales hummed, shook his head, and continued to leave.

"Your Highness!"

Thales paused.

"Changed your mind?"

Federico took a deep breath, his eyes hesitant.

After a few minutes, he finally spoke slowly.

"Lausanne is different from ordinary people and cannot be treated with common sense," Federico forced a smile, but what he said disappointed Thales, "Please be more careful."

Thales frowned fiercely.

This time, he didn't look back and left the room.

Jenn and Federico.

Emerald City.

Hilley.

The king's expectations.

With so many factors and so many options, how should he choose?

Ignoring the awed looks of the guards, Thales walked into the corridor and suppressed the anger and irritability in his heart.

"Your Highness?"

Seeing the prince coming out, Huaiya quickly followed Thales:

"How about it?"

"It's not bad," Thales said without changing his expression and said in a confident tone, "I squeezed something out of both of our distinguished guests."

"That's good...but Your Highness, you don't seem to be happy?" Huaiya asked tentatively.

Thales' eyebrows twitched.

At that moment, he suddenly felt a little bored.

He's obviously smiling, isn't he?

How did this guy figure it out?

But Thales turned his head and saw Waiya with a worried look on his face, and couldn't help but sigh.

"I don't know," Thales shook his head, "I just always feel that...whether it's Zhan's concession or Federico's attitude, I always feel that their reactions are not what I deserve."

"Ah? Deserve it?" Huaiya was confused, "Your Highness, I don't know-"

"not understand?"

Thales took his words and said them not only to Huaiya, but also to himself:

"It doesn't matter, I don't understand either."

Wyatt was even more confused.

But before he could answer, Thales patted the attendant on the shoulder:

"Go tell the logistics wing to prepare a dinner for the Guard brothers - the most expensive kind."

"Yes - ah, the most expensive one?"

Halfway through his words, Huaiya suddenly changed his color:

"But the logistics wing said..."

"Wait until I come back to pay for the meal," Thales pulled out the envelope from his arms, calmly and confidently, "after I go to talk to some big dogs."

"Uh, yes...yes?"

Huaiya twitched his eyebrows, doubtful.

What's going on, Your Highness?

Report to him?

No - when has His Highness ever been responsible for reimbursing accounts?

Could he not know that this was his money?

"After dinner, the team will be ready to set off."

"Yes - Your Highness, where are you going?"

Thales' smile disappeared instantly.

"The Emerald City."

He looked into the depths of the endless corridor, murderous intent evident in his eyes:

"Beimen Bridge."